Supreme Court sets schedule for CIPA appeal: ALA arguments to begin March 5

Contact: Paige Wasson


312-280-5043

For Immediate Release


December 19, 2002

Supreme Court sets schedule for CIPA appeal: ALA arguments to begin March 5

Arguments on the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) will be held Wednesday, March 5, 2003, according to a schedule released December 18, by the U.S. Supreme Court. In May, the American Library Association (ALA) received a unanimous lower court ruling that CIPA is unconstitutional. The opinion was written by Chief Judge Edward R. Becker of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and joined by U.S. District Court Judges John P. Fullam and Harvey Bartle III.

The three-judge panel held that CIPA is unconstitutional because the mandated use of filtering technology on all computers will result in blocked access to substantial amounts of constitutionally protected speech. The Court found that filters both overblock (block access to protected speech) and underblock (allow access to illegal or unconstitutional speech).

To learn more about the ALA and the lawsuit against CIPA, please visit our
Web site or call 312-280-4223. Donate to the ALA legal defense fund
online.